Ironing board or table



.Aug 6, 1940. E. H. BATTELLE IRONING BOARD OR TABLE Filed March 25,1937l Patented Aug. 6, 1940v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFCI ApplicationMarch 23,

8 Claims.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in an ironing boardor table and has for one of its objects to combine a device of thischaracter with an article of furniture, such as a kitchen cabinet,dresser, table, desk or the like, whereby the ironing board may, whennot in use, be completely concealed within the article of furniture.

Another object of my invention is to mount the ironing board in a mannerthat will permit it to be swung into or out of a suitable compartmentWithout the necessity of lifting or lugging the board or a supportingstand from and to a place of storage and without disturbing the otherfurniture in the room where the ironing operations are carried on.

Another object of my invention is to pivot an ironing board within acompartment in any suitable article of furniture and to provide meansfor limiting the outward swinging movement of the board, means to fastenthe board in its operative position, means to rigidly support the boardin its operative position, and means to close the entrance to thecompartment when the board is put away.

The length of the space available within the article of furniture toconstitute the compartment for reception of the ironing board and spacein a room when the board is used determines, to some extent, the lengthof the board and whether it is to be a one piece or folding board.Therefore, a still further object of the present invention is to providea folding ironing board as well as a one piece ironing board eachpivoted within a compartment in an article of furniture and partiallysupported, when in operative position, by a movable element of thearticle of furniture; such as a drawer or door.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of thedetails of construction and combination of elements hereinafterdescribedk and then designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invenion appertainsmay understand how to make and use the same, I will describe itsconstruction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a kitchen cabinetconstituting an article of furniture with which the ironing boards arecombined.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof in the region of theone-piece ironing board looking towards the adjacent end of the cabinet.

Fig. 3 is a similar view in the region of the folding ironing boardlooking towards the end 1937, Serial No. 132,486

of the cabinet adjacent which said folding ironing board is mounted.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view looking down'on top of the ironingboard.

Fig. 5 is a side view of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a brace.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, ofsaid brace.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the folding ironing board inextended position.

Fig. 9 is the same kind of View showing the ironing board folded.

Fig. 10 is a face view of another form of brace.

Fig. v11 is a bottom face view of the folding l ironing board. i

Fig. 12 is a bottom face view of the one-piece ironing board.

Fig. 13 is a broken horizontal sectional view of the article offurniture in the region of the entrance above the drawers.

In carrying out my invention l5 represents an article of furniture andfor purposes of description only such article of furniture is shown as akitchen cabinet including a base I6 with drawers il mounted therein anddoors i3 normally closing the storage compartments.

In one form of the invention I utilize a straight one-piece or integralironing board i9 having its inner end reinforced by a plate 20. Theironing board has an aperture 2l, in the form of a hole or slot,adjacent the inner end at either or both sides. Such aperture registerswith a pivot 22 of any suitable construction or type and is mounted inany convenient manner to any desirable or suitable part of the articleof furniture within a compartment 23 above the drawers Il, whichcompartment has an entrance opening 2d. This arrangement permits theironing board I9 to be swung into and housed within the compartment 23and when thus housed, said ironing board rests on a supportingcross-piece 25 in the article of furniture below the compartment 23.Said cross-piece 25 has an inclined top surface so that as the ironingboard is placed in the compartment 23 said ironing board will beslightly elevated to relieve the strain on the pivot The inclination canbe provided by slanting the crosspiece or by beveling its top surface.

When the ironing board is in the compartment it is entirely concealedfrom view by a combined closure and brace 26 which is placed in theentrance 24 where it is held against accidental displacement in anysuitable manner. For example, one end has a pin 21 that projects into\ahole 21EL in the article of furniture at one end of the entrance and theother end of lsaid closure and brace has a catch 28, such as a springpressed ball, Fig. 7, which engages a depression 2ta in the article offurniture at the other endofthe entrance 24. A finger hold 29 of somekind, for example, a ring, is provided on the closure and brace wherebyit may be easily removed from the entrance 24.

Upon removal of the closure and brace from the entrance 24 the ironingboard may be swung outward into operative position, as shown in Figs. 1,4 and 5, with very little effort and without lifting or carrying eitherthe ironing board or a supporting horse therefor. When the board is inits operative position, the closure and brace is set beneath the outerend of the board with end carrying the pin 21 engaged in the cleat 36and the pin registering with the hole 3l. The other end of said closureand brace, when used as the brace, rests on the oor and may be proppedagainst the article of furniture or other suitable holding means.

Generally when pulling out the ironing board the drawer vin the regionof the pivot is slightly withdrawn and when the board is all the way outthe drawer is replaced and the top edge of its outer wall will rideunder the wedge block 32 on the bottom of the board and force the lattertightly against the flat top of the article of furniture. At the sametime, the front Wall of the drawer will engage the stop 33 to furthersteady the board and limit its swinging movement in one direction. Toinsure the board remaining in its operative position a fastening means34, such as a hook and eye, may be used. One element of the fasteningmeans is carried by the board and the other element is attached to thearticle of furniture.

In the other form of the invention a folding ironing board 35 is shownand includes an inner section 36 and an outer section 31 connectcd by ahinge 38 arranged so that the outer section 31 folds under the innersection, as shown in Figs. 3 and 9, and when folded said outer sectionis retained in place by a catch 39 of a suitable formation.

The inner end of the board, and more particularly the inner section 36,is reinforced by a plate 40. The inner section of the folding ironingboard has an aperture 4|, in the form of a hole as shown in Fig. 11 or aslot as illustrated in connection with the one-piece board in Fig. 12,as vthis aperture is positioned adjacent the inner end of the innersection at either or both sides. Such aperture registers with a pivot42, Fig. 3, of any suitable form and which is mounted on the article offurniture in a suitable compartment 43 above one of the doors I8. Thecompartment 43 has an entrance 44 permitting the ironing board, whilefolded, to be moved into and out of said compartment. By positioning theboard above the door said board will be low enough to be used by aperson sitting on a chair.

When the ironing board is in the compartment it may be concealed by acombined closure and brace 45, Fig. 10, or by a removable strip which tsin the entrance 44. Because of the short length of said entrance aseparate closure may be used which will be similar to the structureshown in Figs. 6 and 7 or it may be constructed as illustrated.in Fig.10 wherein the closure and brace is made of two parts 46 and 4l joinedtogether by a hinge 48, so the part 41 is as long as the entrance 44 butwhen the closure and brace I 45 is used as a brace the part 46 ispropped against Of course one pin can be used with the closure and brace45 as suggested by the showing in Fig. 6 or two pins can be used on theclosure and brace 25.

Upon removal of the closure device from the entrance 44 the ironingboard may be swung outward and the outer section 37 then opened until itis in endwise alignment with the inner board section 36 as shown inFig. 1. vWhen the board is in operative position a brace is set underthe outer end of the outer board section and said brace may be of a formas shown in Fig. 6 or that illustrated in Fig. 10 or it may be of a typerepresented by the numeral 52 in Fig. 1. The object of using a brace isto support the overhanging outer end of the board and because of thearrangement of the hinge 38 any weight or .force applied to the top ofthe board 35 can not cause its collapse.

The door under the folding board can be opened while the board is beingwithdrawn and then such door is closed which will tighten or clamp theboard between the top edge of the door and some other portion of thearticle of furniture. To assist this clamping action a wedge block 53 iscarried by the board so that the closing of the door will press allelements together. Also a stop 54 is carried by the folding i itsoperative position by a fastening means 55 of suitable formation. Thisstop can also be utilized to limit the inward swinging movement of thefolded board by providing a check 56 in the article of furniture in thepath of travel of the stop 54.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that I have provided highlyefcient structures wherein either ironing board may be placed inoperative positionv or returned to its concealed station with littleeffort and without lugging or lifting the boards or heavy supportinghorses, trestles or frames. The folding board is particularlyadvantageous in small apartments or in a room Where a considerablenumber of large articles of furniture are situated because the foldedboard can be swung past an adjacent article of furniture and thenunfolded into a space of suiiicient size to accommodate the full lengthof the board.

Of course'I do not wish to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction herein shown and described as these may be varied withinthe scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis:

1. In a .device of the kind described, the combination with an articleof furniture having at least one drawer and provided with a compartmenthaving an entrance above the drawer, a support having an inclined topsurface mounted in thearticle of furniture transversely of the'compartment at the bottom thereof, a pivot at toY mounting of the boardon the pivot for swinging movement out of and into the compartmentthrough the entrance and when in the compartment resting on the support,a stop carried by the board to engage the drawer for positioning theboard when in its open location, a wedge block carried by the board tocause the board to be pressed tightly in the entrance when the drawer isclosed with the board in its open location, a cleat on the underside ofthe board adjacent its outer end and said board having a hole in theregion of said cleat, a combined closure and brace insertable in theentrance and under the board to support its outer end, a pin on one endof said closure and brace to register with the hole in the outer end ofthe board when used as a brace and to register with a hole at an end ofthe entrance when used as a closure, and means on the other end of thecombined closure and brace to temporarily hold said closure and brace inthe entrance to the compartment.

2. The structure in claim 1 wherein the aperture registering with thepivot is elongated longitudmauy of the board.

3. In a device of the kind described, the cornbination with an articleof furniture having at least one door and provided with a compartmenthaving an entrance including a portion of the doorway and extendingabove the door, a pivot at the front of one end of said compartment, afolding ironing board including an inner and an outer section, hingesconnecting said sections together to permit the outer section to befolded under the inner section, means to hold said outer section in itsfolded position, a reinforcing plate on one face of the inner end ofsaid inner section, said board and plate having at least one apertureadjacent the inner end at one side of said inner section to mount theboard on the pivot for swinging movement out of and into the compartmentwhile the board is folded and the door open, a stop carried by the innersection of the board to engage the door when the latter is closed forpositioning the board when in its operative location, a wedge blockcarried by the board to cause said board to be pressed tightly betweenthe top of the entrance and the door when the latter is closed with theboard in its operative location, a cleat on the underside of the outersection of the board adjacent its outer end, a brace, one end of whichis adapted to engage the cleat and the other end propped against asupporting element, means on the end which engages the cleat to projectinto at least one hole in the region of the cleat, means in thecompartment to be engaged by the stop when the board is swung into thecompartment for positioning the board when in its inoperative position,and closure means removably mounted in the entrance when the board is insaid inoperative position to fully conceal said board.

4. In a device of the kind described, the combination with an article offurniture having a compartment therein with the entrance to saidcompartment above a movable element of said article of furniture, apivot at the front part of one end of said compartment, an ironing boardconsisting of two sections hinged together with the outer sectionadapted to be folded under the inner section, a reinforcing plate on theface of the inner end of the inner section of said board, said board andplate having at least one aperture adjacent the inner end and a side ofthe board to permit mounting of the board on the pivot for swingingmovement through the entrance of the compartment, a stop carried by theboard to engage the movable element for positioning the board in itsopen location, a wedge block carried by the board to cause the board tobe pressed tightly in the entrance when the movable element is closedwith the board in its open location, and a brace detachably connected tothe outer end of the board when the latter is in its operative positionto support said outer end.

5. In combination with an article of furniture including a drawer andhaving a compartment directly above said drawer, a pivot mounted in saidcompartment, an ironing board journalled adjacent its inner end andadjacent one of its sides on said pivot to swing out of and into saidcompartment, means carried by the underside of the board to be engagedby a portion of the drawer when said board is in its operative positionand the drawer is closed, a Wedge block on the underside of the board tobe engaged by the front of the drawer as the latter is closed, and meansto brace the outer end of the board.

6. The structure in claim 5, in combination with a cross-piece in thecompartment with its top surface inclined upwardly and inwardly for theboard to ride on as it is swung into the compartment.

7. fn combination with an article of furniture including a verticallyhinged door and having a compartment directly above said door, a pivotmounted in said compartment, an ironing board mounted on said pivot toswing out of and into said compartment, a stop on the underside of theboard to be engaged by the upper part oi the door when said board is inits operative position and the door is closed, and a wedge block also onthe underside of the board and on which the top edge of the door ridesas the latter is closed.

8. In combination with an article of furniture including a movableelement and having a compartment directly above said movable element, apivot within the compartment, an ironing board mounted on said pivot toswing out of and into said compartment, a stop on the ironing board forcooperatin with the movable element when said ironing board is swungoutward and said movable element closed, and a wedge block on theunderside of the ironing board to be engaged by the movable element asthe latter is closed for pressing the ironing board tightly within theerr'I trance of the compartment.A

EDITH H. BA'ITEILE.

